Rainbow Lodge

My visit to Rainbow Lodge leaves me with lots to say!  Almost all totally and completely delightful!  So, hold tight with me through my thoughts.  You'll be so happy you did!

I had not been to the Log Cabin since before the switch from La Tour D'Argent.  I loved being back in that quaint, rugged old cabin (history of the cabin is on the Rainbow Lodge website).  The service was lovely.  Friendly.  Cordial.  Helpful.  Knowledgeable.  The wine list offered a large variety at decent prices.

For our starters, our table ordered several items.  The Classic Caesar Salad ($7) was ho hum to me.  While fresh and crisp romaine, it didn't really blow me away.  The Slow Smoked Duck Gumbo with andouille sausage and wild rice pilaf ($7) was thin, lacked kicked-up spice and lacked big chunks of meat.  However, the person who actually ordered it (and a gumbo aficionado) loved it describing the flavor as seasoned very well.

Slow Smoked Duck Gumbo

But, let me end there with the complaints - because the rest of the meal I found to be DELICIOUS!  The Matchstick Honey Crisp Apple salad -- with celery root and endive, smoke mustard and creme fraiche ($11) was fresh and crisp.   A hint of spice from the visible mustard seeds.  It was a great way to cleanse our palate before moving onward.

Matchstick Honey Crisp Apple Salad

The appetizer of Honey Sweetened Local Goats Cheese with walnut bread and fig jam ($9) was a fantastic way to start a meal!  The goat cheese was creamy and fresh.  Very delicious.  The fig jam was a perfect pairing to the cheese.  Sweet, but not too much sweetness, the sweet and savory combination worked in perfect combination together.

Honey Sweetened Local Goats Cheese

I ordered the Bryan Farms Chicken with black kale colcannon, red eye gravy and prosciutto and shaved sugar peas ($25).  This dish was a symphony on my plate.  All the flavors and textures worked in perfect concert together.  The Black Kale Colcannon was delicious when eaten with the very tender and moist chicken.  Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish of mashed potatoes with hearty greens.  Black Kale isn't really black, but a deep grayish color.  The two together were heavenly.   The prosciutto as you can see below was a fried strip, reminiscent of bacon.  But better.  Thin. Light.  Delicious combined with the colcannon and chicken.  The sugar snap peas were tender.  Crunchy.  Delicate, yet held their own with the gravy, potatoes, and kale.  And the gravy.  Yum.  A little salty, but I actually really like salt.  Therefore, the dish was perfection.

Bryan Farms Chicken

Dessert.  Ah, Dessert!  The Guinness Chocolate Cake with Irish Whiskey glaze, spiced chocolate ganache, and vanilla bean ice cream ($8) rivaled my chicken dish in regards to best flavor combination ever.  I mean...ever.  The cake had a subtle hint of the Guinness giving it a unique quality.  Mild chocolate.  Extremely tasty.  Moist.  The strip of hard  toffee combined with the soft cake, sumptuous whiskey glaze, and the chocolate-y ganache was the most exquisite bite of divine heaven.  Really.  It was that good.  The flavors and textures truly complimented each other in the way that food is meant to be consumed.

Guinness Chocolate Cake

The Warm Almond Cake was beautiful and delicious as well ($8).  Almond cake with orange creme anglaise, caramel and candied almonds, and citrus salad.  The cake was indeed the perfect warm temperature. Thick.  Moist. Dense.  A very nice partnership of the orange and almond flavors.

Warm Almond Cake

Our dining visit at Rainbow Lodge, clearly, was truly an excellent gastronomic experience.  I highly recommend dining there.

Rainbow Lodge
2011 Ella Boulevard at East TC Jester
Houston, Texas  77008
713-861-8666
http://www.rainbow-lodge.com/